cJouzeau  of  cJlbid^Lond, 


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Tuise. 


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3wc  itHtanr^H 


First  Chi'istiaii  Endeavor  Convention  in  Alaska^  Norernber.,  1002. 


The  first  Christian  Endeavor  convention  in  Alaska 
was  held  in  November  of  1903,  at  Wrangell.  The 
highways  of  Alaska  are  waterways,  so  travel  and 
definite  dates  are  somewhat  uncertain.  Storm  bound 
on  the  road  to  the  convention,  the  various  delegates 
gathered  at  Klawock  held  a meeting  by  the  way. 
It  was  an  occasion  of  gladness  and  blessing.  It  was 


reported  as  the  greatest  unifying  power  seen  up  to 
that  time  in  southeastern  Alaska.  Old  sores  and 
troubles  were  forgiven  and  forgotten  as  the  people 
mingled  together  in  praise  and  prayer.  As  in  David’s 
day,  music  is  .a  powerful  factor  in  bringing  peace  to 
the  passions  of  men.  The  native  band  in  more  than 
one  of  our  Alaskan  fields  is  the  pastor’s  strong  ally. 


EST  of  San  Francisco  as  far  as  Maine  is 
east  of  it— so  far  west  do  our  Alaskan  pos- 
sessions extend.  As  far  as  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  Canada — so  far  is  it  between 
Alaska's  southern  and  northern  shores.  As  great 
as  the  area  of  all  our  land  east  of  the  Mississippi 
river — save  only  Michigan,  AVisconsin  and  the 
States  touching  the  Gulf — so  great  is  the  area  of 
Alaska.  As  far  as  from  Miuneaiiolis  to  Portland, 
Oregon— so  far  is  it,  as  a bird  Hies,  from  the  south- 
ernmost of  our  own  mission  stations  in  Alaska  to 
the  most  northern. 

A mighty  river,  navigable  through  all  its  length 
across  the  entirn  peninsula,  and  a thousand  miles 
beyond,  the  Yukon  has  taken  its  place  among  the 
great  rivers  of  the  world. 

The  recently  discovertHl  Mt.  McKinley  in  its 
height  is  rivalled  by  few  mountain  peaks  in  any 
continent. 

Mineral  and  agri<mltural  wealth — the  treasures 
of  the  earth — are  matched  by  the  fishing  industry 
and  the  treasures  of  the  sea.  In  the  decade  closing 
with  1000  Alaska's  population  doubled,  the  added 
thirty  thousand  being  mainly  ‘'boys”  from  the 
East  in  search  of  wealth— the  wealth  that  perishes. 

In  all  this  vast  land  what  is  our  Church  doing'? 
When  missions  were  opened  in  the  great  teiritory 
purchased  from  Russia,  there  was  a compact  be- 
tween the  denominations  by  which  each  agreed  to 
concentrate  its  elTorts  for  the  natives  to  the  special 
part  alloted  to  it.  To  the  Presbyterian  Church  was 
given  the  southeastern  extension  of  the  territory. 
A mission  teacher  anil  an  ordained  missionary  in 
1877  entered  the  untried  field  with  its  unknown 
and  horrible  heathen  customs. 

Too  long  for  telling  here  is  the  story  of  the 
struggle — slow  at  first — between  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness and  the  messengers  of  Him  who  is  the  Light. 
Little  by  little  the  dawn  broke.  Gradually  old 
customs  lost  their  power. 

Our  Juneau  mission  illustrates  the  progress  made 
on  all  our  Alaskan  fields.  Here  our  native  church 
was  organized  in  1887.  On  its  charter  list  were 
thirteen — whites  and  Indians— of  whom  only  one 
now  survives.  The  present  pastor  is  the  Rev.  L.  F. 
Jones,  who  has  been  for  ten  years  on  that  field. 
During  this  time  almost  three  hundred  have  been 
added  to  the  church,  all  save  three  on  confession  of 
faith  ; two  hundred  infants  have  been  baptized  ; 
sixty  native  marriages  have  been  performed ; and 
in  connection  with  the  Juneau  church  there  has 
been  erected  a substantial  hall,  which  is  located  in 
the  native  village,  and  in  which  the  natives  gather 
not  only  for  socials  and  band  practice  but  also  for 
religious  services  during  the  week.  A Juneau  paper 
— and  not  all  editors  are  in  sympathy  with  mission 
lines  of  service — voluntarily  prints  this  editorial 
tribute  to  Mr.  Jones  and  his  church: 

“The  effect  of  church  work  upon  the  lives  and 
morals  of  the  natives  may'  be  seen,  not  only  in  in- 
dividual characters,  but  in  a comparison  of  what 
the  natives  do  to-day  as  compared  with  what  they 
did  when  the  missionary  first  came  amongst  them. 
This,  by  the  way,  is  the  only  true  mode  of  compari- 
^ sou — not  to  compare  the  natives  with  our  white 
civilization  but  the  natives  now  with  what  they 
were  when  religion  found  them. 

“ Many  old  customs  in  vogue  at  the  beginning  of 
this  period  have  disappeared.  Then,  burning  the 
dead  was  a custom  which  has  given  way  entirely  to 
Christian  burial.  Then,  witchcraft  was  in  vogue 
but  is  now  a thing  of  the  past.  Gambling  was  then 
rife  but  has  now  vanished.  Then,  native  street 
girls  were  plentiful  and  frequented  dance  halls  of 
the  whites.  Now  they  are  scarce  and  frequent  no 


dance  halls.  The  old  marriage  custom  is  fast  pass- 
ing away.  Feasting  and  dancing,  which  used  to 
engage  all  of  their  time  during  the  winter,  are  on 
the  decline  and  are  lightly  indulged  in.  Until  re- 
cently they  were  devoid  of  public  spirit,  but  now 
they  build  sidewalks  and  provide  street  lights  by 
public  subscriptions.  They  are  building  better 
homes,  take  more  pride  in  furnishing  them,  and 
families  are  more  and  more  individualizing  them- 
selves. These  are  some,  not  all,  of  the  indica- 
tions of  progress.  And  no  one  can  deny  that  the 
‘ Church'  is  the  chief  agency  in  bringing  about  these 
reforms.  . . . 

“The  good  work  done  by  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Jones 
among  the  natives  is  deserving  of  great  praise,  and 
their  advancement  under  the  guidance  of  Rev.  Jones 
is  appreciated  by  all  who  have  followed  the  progress 
made  by  the  natives  during  the  past  ten  yeans.” 

But  the  work  to  the  natives  in  Alaska  is  now  a 
small  part  of  the  Church’s  obligation.  The  Presby- 
tery of  Alaska  is  but  one  of  two  presbyteries  of  our 
Assembly’  located  in  that  territory. 

About  ten  years  ago  occurred  the  first  im]iortant 
gold  discovery.  Then  began  the  influx  of  whites  to 
the  interior.  This  greatly  increased  the  commer- 
cial activity  along  the  southeastern  extension  of  the 
territory  and  wholly  changed  the  characteristics  of 
mission  work  there.  Our  missionaries  face  no  longer 
the  simple  conditions  existing  among  the  aboriginal 
people,  but  are  perplexed  by  the  problems  of  a fron- 
tier and  changing  region.  In  interior  Alaska  our 
mission  stations  are  few,  but  are  located  with  a view 
to  reaching  the  miners  in  congested  centers  wherever 
the  latest  gold  discovery  has  attracted  the  throng. 

During  the  past  year  two  of  our  missionaries  have 
been  located  on  the  Tanana  creek,  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  from  Rampart.  The  Rev.  M.  E, 
Koonce,  Ph.  D.,  during  five  long  and  lonely’ years, 
has  held  this  outpost  and  ministered  splendidly  to 
1 the  minors  w’ithin  many  miles  of  Rampart,  scat- 
tered at  their  diggings  along  the  creeks. 

The  new  gold  field  on  the  Tanana  has  our  oldest 
and  newest  Alaskan  missionaries,  the  Rev.  S.  Hall 
Y'oung,  D.D.,  and  his  wife  and  the  Rev.  Howard  M. 
Frank  and  his  bride.  Fairbanks  and  Chena  are  the 
two  towns  in  which  they  are  located.  When  that 
part  of  the  country  shall  have  settled,  after  a more 
thorough  understanding  of  its  mining  conditions 
and  possibilities  have  been  reached,  there  will  prob- 
ably be  but  one  town.  Our  missionaries  will  watch 
the  changing  situation  and  be  quick  to  take  advan- 
tage of  it.  Meanwhile  at  each  place  a building  has 
been  erected  at  which  services  are  regularly  main- 
tained. An  athlete  in  his  student  days,  Mr.  Frank 
is  practically  proving  the  value  of  muscular  Chris- 
tianity by  his  weekly  trips  among  the  creeks,  dur- 
ing which  he  “mushes"  scores  of  miles  and  preaches 
to  hungry-hearted  men  and  women  who  gather  in 
road-houses  and  saloons  to  hear  the  once  familiar 
gospel  story. 

Nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles  distant  is  our  next 
missionary,  the  Rev.  Herman  M.  Hosack,  who  has 
two  stations — Council  and  Teller — a hundred  miles 
apart.  We  have  at  Council  an  organized  church. 
For  this  whole  region  he  asks  two  or  three  mission- 
aries. There  is  work  enough— and  more — to  keep 
them  busy.  His  field  is  unique  in  that  on  many 
occasions  at  his  services  the  entire  population  is 
present — not  a man  or  woman  missing  I 

After  three  years  of  heroic  isolation  and  stren- 
I uous  service  in  this  Labrador  of  our  western  coast 
^ Mr.  Hosack  feels  the  need  of  coming  to  the  States  for 

' mental  and  spiritual  uplift.  Only  those  who  have 

i been  absolutely  alone,  away  from  all  whose  ideals 
and  lives  are  noble,  can  understand  the  peril  to 
heart  and  life  endured  in  our  Arctic  fields. 


“ For  many  years  the  northwest  wind  has  been 
bringing  from  that  great  land  a wail  of  despair  as 
sad  as  ever  came  from  the  darkest  corners  of  the 
earth.  It  was  the  mute  cry  of  men,  women  and 
children  living  in  the  habitations  of  cruelty  into 
which  no  ray  of  divine  light  and  love  had  ever  pen- 
etrated— the  inarticulate  moan  of  immortal  souls 
left  to  live  and  die  without  God  and  without 
hope,  all  forgotten  by  the  great  Christian  world 
beyond  them.” — Sheldon  J.\ckson,  D.D. 


The  first  Presbyterian  missionaries  entered  Ala.ska 
in  1877.  Figures  are  but  a poor  measure  of  spiritual 
work  in  planting  the  Master’s  Kingdom  ; yet  they 
are  forceful  in  illustration. 

After  ten  years  of  Alaskan  missionary  service 
Christianity  had  so  grown  that  the  Presbytery  of 
Ala.ska  was  erected  with  two  churches,  having  one 
hundred  and  sixty-three  members,  and  nine  minis- 
ters. 

Our  last  complete  statement  from  the  Presbytery 
of  Alaska  was  compiled  a year  ago  and  shows  that 
it  now  includes  fourteen  churches,  twelve  hundred 
and  twenty-two  members,  and  fifteen  ministers. 
Of  these  one  is  self-supporting — the  church  at  Skag- 
way,  a town  unknown  ten  years  ago.  Three  of  the 
churches  are  for  white  settlers,  to  whom  at  the  be- 
ginning of  Alaskan  missions  it  was  not  dreamed  the 
Church  would  ever  need  to  send  help. 

Not  a single  one  of  the  churches  in  the  Presbytery 
of  Alaska  has  omitted  offerings  to  the  Boards, 
while  six  churches  have  filled  every  column — an 
example  that  many  of  our  churches  in  the  States 
would  do  well  to  follow. 


The  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  U.S.A.,  Harvey  C.  Olin,  Treas.,  156  Fifth  Ave.,  Nesv  York 


No.  215-lst  Eli.— 5,  1905. 


THE  WILLETT  PRESS 
NEW  YORK 


